Lookout Eugene-Springfield

2 days ago | lookouteugene-springfield.com | Ben Botkin

QuickTake: The Legislature’s end-of-session “Christmas tree” bill has money tucked into it for behavioral health, economic development and housing in Lane County. Local officials say the funding will help the projects get off the ground.

4 days ago | lookouteugene-springfield.com | Ben Botkin

QuickTake: Federal inspectors linked repeated failures at Oregon State Hospital to the March 18 death of a patient in a locked seclusion room. When the hospital released the report, it censored those failures from the public’s view, an unredacted version obtained by Lookout Eugene-Springfield shows. Shortly before he died the night of March 18, Kenneth Hass fell and hit his head in a locked seclusion room at Oregon State Hospital.

2 weeks ago | lookouteugene-springfield.com | Ben Botkin

QuickTake: A Lane County man who died while at Oregon State Hospital spurred a federal review at the state’s psychiatric facility. More than a dozen staffers came forward with concerns about the hospital’s systemic failures. Kenneth Hass died alone at Oregon State Hospital on March 18 in circumstances that deeply troubled staffers at the state-run psychiatric hospital in Salem.

2 weeks ago | lookouteugene-springfield.com | Ben Botkin

QuickTake: Lane County commissioners are making plans to pay for fees if employees are charged with federal crimes tied to not cooperating with federal immigration authorities or providing gender-affirming care. Lane County leaders say it’s highly unlikely — but they still want to be ready — in the event a county employee is charged with a federal crime for actions connected with their job.

2 weeks ago | lookouteugene-springfield.com | Ben Botkin

QuickTake: Although the city of Eugene has met some short-term benchmarks, it has a long way to go in addressing its housing shortage. Thousands more housing units are needed in the years ahead. The city of Eugene is meeting some of its internal goals mapped out for housing growth, but it still falls short of what’s needed to meet the immediate and long-term demand in the city.